Revised on 03/28/22 Copyright © March28th, 2022 by Kifco
®
Inc.
9
Handling the Polyethylene Tube
The polyethylene irrigation tube is a durable product that will operate reliably for many years
if handled properly and given a reasonable amount of care.
Medium Density Polyethylene is a semi
-
rigid product that retains its shape when it is not pres-
surized but can also be wound on a drum or spool without damage. This characteristic makes
it feasible to pump fluid through it while it is rolled up on a reel.
A few simple precautions need to be observed to prevent damaging the tube when operating
your Water
-
Reel.
1.
When starting a new Water
-
Reel for the first time, you must pull the tube all the way
out in order to correctly tighten the new tube on the spool. It is also important to fol-
low the timing Instructions on Pages 23
-
24 of this manual.
2.
Never transport the Water
-
Reel with the Anti Return Pawl in the up position! The tub-
ing will become loose and tangled.
Do not attempt to operate your Water
-
Reel if there
are any coils of tube that are loose or misplaced. If loose coils of tube are noticed, they
must be tightened by rotating the spool by hand. If this is not possible, pull all of the tube
out before attempting to rewind the tube.
3.
Never try to move or relocate the machine if the tube is not fully rewound onto the ma-
chine.
4.
Never pull the tube off the machine other than by pulling on the sprinkler cart (straight
out from the machine).
5.
Never run over the tube with any kind of vehicle and avoid pinching or pulling the tube
around objects. Never bend the tube sharper than 25 times the inner diameter of the
tube (See page 14).
6.
If the tube is frequently pulled out only a portion of its complete length the tube remain-
ing on the drum will become loose. Occasionally it will be necessary to pull all the tube off
the drum to tighten the remaining coils.
Be careful when operating other equipment near the tube. Make sure the tube doesn
’
t get
gouged or punctured.
REMEMBER, polyethylene tube is semi
-
rigid and subject to being kinked. Those foregoing
precautions will reduce the possibility of kinking or damaging your tube. Throughout the
irrigation industry the words
‘
tube
’
and
‘
hose
’
are used interchangeably in connection with
hard hose traveling machines.
